Aerospace talent in Texas lauded

Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of SpaceX, talks at an event in League City hosted by The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018.

Photo: Andrea Rumbaugh

Most University of Texas aerospace engineering students will likely remain in the state to work for NASA, government contractors, startups and a host of other technologically advanced organizations, according to David Daniel, deputy chancellor for the University of Texas System.

"Don't worry about young people being interested in aerospace," Daniel said Thursday at an aerospace conference in League City hosted by the Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas. "Boy, are they interested."

There are about 1,000 undergraduates and 350 master's or doctoral students who are studying in Arlington and Austin. They will deepen the state's talent pool and help ensure economic growth in an ever-advancing technological society, he said.

Already, the talent pipeline - and succeeding job market - is strong in Texas, Daniel said, but a potential constraint could be one of perception.

Aerospace, for instance, conjures up images of planes or rockets. But in reality, the sector has expanded to include robotics, artificial intelligence, medical devices and more.

Students, he said, need to know of those broadening potentials. The University of Texas, for instance, has programs focused on composite materials and the recovery of oxygen from carbon dioxide. Both will help humans reach Mars.

Researchers at Texas A&M University are examining supersonic flight, and they're creating food that astronauts eat in space. Rice University teaches its students about space policy.

"There's an enormous business opportunity that's going to happen somewhere, and jobs are going to be created somewhere," Daniel said.

His goal is to keep those jobs and opportunities in Texas, a topic discussed at the conference, which drew more than 250 researchers, scientists, engineers, CEOs, medical professionals and former astronauts.

Janine Iannarelli, president and founder of Par Avion and presiding chair of the Texas Aerospace and Aviation Advisory Committee, said the state's job market will be even more demanding as the traditional aviation sector suffers from a shortage of pilots, mechanics and others who operate or maintain aircraft.

Iannarelli emphasized the importance of inspiring children toward a career in aviation and keeping them engaged as they get older.

"It is incumbent upon those of us who are already in the industry to help foster interest in developing an aerospace studies to help support continued growth," she said.

To keep Texas' general aviation sector competitive with neighboring states, she said recommendations from the state advisory committee include eliminating sales tax on goods and services as they relate to general aviation. Texas is losing business to states that have eliminated these sales taxes.

Also key is collaboration among the government, industry and academic institutions, which several presenters discussed. David Leebron, president of Rice, recited a portion of the famed "moon speech" that former President John F. Kennedy gave at the school.

"We meet at a college noted for knowledge, in a city noted for progress, in a state noted for strength," Leebron recited. "And we stand in need of all three, for we meet in an hour of change and challenge, in a decade of hope and fear, in an age of both knowledge and ignorance."

Leebron said such collaboration, as well as a strong energy sector that could provide engineers and technical expertise, helped attract Johnson Space Center to Houston in the first place.

"It wasn't only the collaboration that made it a reality, that provided what we needed to send men into space," Leebron said, "but it was that collaboration that brought together the politics and industry and the capacity of both of the academic institutions."

NASA's Commercial Crew Program is an example of such collaboration. The agency is working with SpaceX and Boeing to create spacecraft and launch systems that will carry crews to the International Space Station.

Both companies highlighted their Texas presence at the event Thursday. Boeing conducts its crew training in Houston, said Christopher Ferguson, deputy program manager of operations for the Boeing Commercial Crew Program. Its mission planning and flight operations will also be in Houston.

SpaceX has a rocket engine testing facility in McGregor and is building a launch site in Boca Chica, said Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of SpaceX. The latter project, she said, will be ready late this year or early next year for early vehicle testing. SpaceX will then continue working toward making it a launch site.

Both have unmanned and manned test flights scheduled for this year.

"We're not in really a competitive mode - though I'm sure we both feel very competitive about who's going to get to station first with astronauts," Shotwell said. "There's two very independent providers working to provide capability to get American astronauts back on American vehicles to the International Space Station."

And separate from NASA, the companies are eyeing bigger targets. Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, would like to colonize Mars. And Boeing is considering space tourism, helping people and cargo reach a private space station or working with other nations interested in developing a space program.

"After we've served our flagship customer, which of course is NASA astronauts, we'll have opportunities to do things beyond the flagship customer," Ferguson said.